Driving Permit for Cameroon
Driving in Cameroon with a foreign licence? Carry an IDP — official guidance calls it required — for stays up to 6 months. Checkpoint document rules, right-hand traffic and road safety tips.
- Drive on
- Right
- Convention
- Not a party
- IDP validity
- 6 months
- Processing time
- 24-48 hours
Do you need an IDP to drive in Cameroon?
Cameroon has not ratified either UN road-traffic convention, but official guidance leaves little doubt that visitors should carry an IDP. The Government of Canada states plainly that you must have an IDP alongside your valid home licence to drive in Cameroon, while the UK allows its photocard licence for up to six months (older paper licences need an IDP). Whatever your nationality, pairing your original licence with an IDP is the safest approach in a country where document checks are a daily reality.
Traffic drives on the right-hand side in Cameroon, as in the rest of Central Africa. The self-drive rental market is small: most visitors arrange a car with a local driver in Douala or Yaoundé, and the desks that do offer self-drive typically expect renters to be at least 21 with a licence held for a year or more. Police and gendarmerie roadblocks are frequent, and officers routinely ask for your passport, licence or IDP, vehicle registration and proof of insurance — if you are accused of a violation, UK government advice is to request an official ticket rather than pay on the spot.
Driving conditions demand caution. Many roads are heavily potholed and unlit at night, with pedestrians, stray animals and poorly lit vehicles adding to the hazard, so official advice is to avoid night driving altogether. Secondary roads can deteriorate badly in the rainy seasons, when a 4x4 becomes a sensible choice. Time on foreign paperwork is also limited: after six months in the country you must obtain a Cameroonian licence from the Delegation of Transport.
Cameroon has not ratified either UN road-traffic convention.
Cameroon is not a contracting party to the 1949 Geneva or 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, so no treaty obliges it to recognise an International Driving Permit. That does not automatically make an IDP useless: rental companies and police often ask for a readable translation of a foreign license, and many drivers carry one for exactly that reason. Read the country detail below and confirm the current rules with your rental company before you travel.
What you need to drive in Cameroon
Have these ready before you pick up the keys.
Original valid driver's licence from your home country, carried at all times
International Driving Permit (1968 format) — Canadian government guidance calls it required alongside your licence; expected at checkpoints
Minimum driving age is 18; rental and hire-car companies typically require drivers to be 21 or older
Vehicle registration papers and valid insurance — officers routinely ask for both at roadblocks
Cameroon drives on the right; vehicles are left-hand drive and distances are signed in kilometres.
A UK photocard licence is accepted for up to 6 months, but older paper licences must be paired with an IDP (gov.uk).
After 6 months' stay you must obtain a Cameroonian licence from the Delegation of Transport.
Cameroon is officially bilingual, but road signage and police interactions are mostly in French outside the Northwest and Southwest regions — an IDP's translations help bridge the gap.
Mobile coverage is patchy between cities; UK guidance suggests convoy travel or carrying a satellite/VHF phone on long rural routes.
During the rainy seasons secondary roads can become impassable, and Canadian guidance recommends a four-wheel-drive vehicle.
What to know before you turn the key
Cameroon drives on the right — the driver sits on the left, and roundabouts flow anti-clockwise.
Carry your IDP and your original license together — rental desks and police checks will ask for both documents.
Police and gendarmerie roadblocks are frequent — carry passport, licence/IDP, registration and insurance, and ask for an official ticket if accused of a violation rather than paying cash.
Self-drive rental is limited; many visitors hire a car with a local driver in Douala or Yaoundé, especially for intercity trips.
Roads are often potholed and unlit — official advice is to avoid driving at night and to consider a 4x4 in the rainy seasons.
Cameroon does not publish a widely available schedule of traffic fines. Enforcement happens at frequent police and gendarmerie roadblocks, where missing documents (licence/IDP, registration, insurance) can lead to on-the-spot fines, delays or vehicle immobilisation; UK government advice is to request an official ticket for any alleged violation rather than paying cash at the roadside.
Local rules to watch in Cameroon
Low-emission zones, tolls, and city-specific rules that catch visiting drivers out.
Douala — the economic capital — has dense, unpredictable traffic with swarms of motorcycle taxis (bendskins); most airport car hire comes with a local driver.
Yaoundé, the hilly political capital, sees heavy congestion and frequent document checkpoints on its approach roads.
The Douala–Yaoundé highway is the country's busiest intercity route and carries heavy truck traffic — drive it in daylight and allow far more time than the map suggests.
Signs you'll meet on the road
Eight internationally recognised signs — including which side of the road Cameroon keeps.
Common questions about driving in Cameroon
Drive Cameroon, confidently.
Apply online in minutes and get instant digital access to your IDP translation — with an IDP PVC card option if you want one in your wallet.